Frisco's Wi-Fi Fiasco

San Francisco's promised experiment with free wireless Internet access may end the same way a summer of free love did some 40 years ago: with broken promises and a mean hangover.

Last week, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors put off a vote to approve a contract with
EarthLink
to set up a wireless network as it dickered with the company over the deal terms. Meanwhile, a struggling EarthLink is now reviewing its municipal wi-fi plans as it tries to push its way back to profitability.

And now the crunchies--and San Francisco is the homeland of all things crunchy--are throwing out one idea and worry after another, from fears about the health risks of wi-fi to plans to give residents access to a city-operated fiber-optic network.

As a result, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom has gone back to step one, asking city residents to vote this November on whether they want free wi-fi or not.

All of this seemed so different just a few years ago. Newsom grabbed headlines when he trumpeted a plan to bring free, wireless access to the city's residents. In January, his administration took a proposal to the Board of Supervisors from EarthLink to provide free, 300 kbps access to the city's residents, subsidized by advertising from
Google
, with a premium, higher-speed service for those willing to pay $20 a month.

The problem: The deal quickly got bogged down in San Francisco's quirky local politics, a gooey mix of '60s holdouts, artists and a heaping helping of tech-savvy dot-commers. One city supervisor pushed for EarthLink to halve the length of the deal and raise the speed of the connections. Others floated the idea of a city-owned wi-fi network. Or, better yet, giving residents access to a city-owned fiber-opticnetwork.

Now EarthLink may be rethinking the deal. After reporting a second-quarter loss, CEO Rolla Huff told investors on a conference call that the company is reviewing the long-term profit potential of its municipal wi-fi push. One possibility: EarthLink may even have to ask cities to pay to use the networks.

The company is now asking for more time to review San Francisco's requests. Bummer, dude.